Haryana BJP, Chautala brothers trade barbs on social media

A political row has erupted following exchanges of social media posts between the Haryana BJP and JJP leader Digvijay Chautala. The dispute relates to the incident of ruckus at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUST) on Thursday. It also involves the arrest of JJP activists. A subsequent road rage incident — wherein a police vehicle allegedly blocked the convoy of former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Digvijay Chautala — in Hisar on Friday further escalated tensions.

The Haryana BJP, on its Facebook page, issued a strongly worded statement targeting Chautala, stating: “A so-called youth leader, Digvijay Chautala, who is neither an MLA nor an MP and whose party has even forfeited its deposit, is using objectionable and abusive language against Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.” It further remarked that he and his party could not manage their own home, an apparent reference to a split in the Chautala family and the JJP’s defeat in the Assembly polls. The post added that there should be maryada (decorum) in public discourse and said the people of Haryana would “show them the way out” in the next election. In another post, the Haryana BJP described Chautala as someone who indulges in “goondagardi” for TRP gains.

Chautala responded to the BJP’s post, stating, “Voters of Dabwali gave me 35,000 votes while the BJP could poll only 7,000. So it is you who lost the security deposit.” He further wrote, “You are the real goonda,” and while directly targeting CM Saini, shared an image of a Bolero vehicle with the CM’s photo on the driving seat, referring to him as a “Bolero wala goonda.”

Former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and former MLA Naina Chautala — mother of Dushyant and Digvijay — also took to social media, targeting the police and the government. They alleged that the police action was a deliberate attempt to intimidate them at the behest of the BJP-led government.